Blank City tells the tale of a disparate crew of renegade filmmakers who emerged from an economically bankrupt and dangerous moment in New York history. From the late 1970s to the mid 1980s, when the city was still a wasteland of cheap rent and cheap drugs, these directors crafted daring works that have since profoundly influenced the development of independent film.

Blank City weaves together an oral history of the “No Wave Cinema” and “Cinema of Transgression” movements, through compelling interviews with the luminaries who began it all, including acclaimed directors Jim Jarmusch and John Waters, actor-writer-director Steve Buscemi, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, hip-hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, photographer Richard Kern as well as Amos Poe, James Nares, Eric Mitchell, Susan Seidelman, Beth B, Scott B, Charlie Ahearn and Nick Zedd. The soundtrack includes: Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Contortions, The Bush Tetras, Sonic Youth and many more.